9.1
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 1,954 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
2023 VW Taos leased in June 2023 - needed to replace brakes 2 years (June 2025) into owning the car. Inspection would not pass without them. This is an excessively quick wear that cost me over $600 for a leased vehicle that should be just basic ownership during 3 year lease. August 2025 - Brought in for an oil change and a coolant yellow light on dashboard. Our local mechanic would not touch the coolant issue as he said it seems to be related to a head gasket leak. The 2022 model had many issues with this problem, however no issues are reported on the 2023 Taos. I have had to find another vehicle to drive and wait 5 days to get it into our local VW dealership, who told us it was OK to drive without even looking at the vehicle. No thank you! We called VW and if in fact this is a head gasket, it would be covered under warranty. These are each pretty serious safety concerns and needs to be reported for future owners of this vehicle. Not interested in another VW after these incidents. We are a first time leaser of them - thank goodness it wasn't a purchase.
- Schenectady, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the head gasket. The head gasket was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. Later, while driving 55 MPH, the message "Transmission Failure" was displayed and the transmission shifted to D2, causing the vehicle to decelerate to 25 MPH. The vehicle was parked, and after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the Medtronic transmission had failed and needed to be replaced; however, parts were on back order. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 10,185.
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
Unknown sometimes have to wait 2 to 3 seconds after stepping on the gas pedal before the car starts accelerating from a stop or at really low speeds.
- Tacoma, WA, USA
The throttle response from a stop in the Taos is not immediate. Sometimes it will take 2 seconds to react to throttle input. There have been times where you accelerate and it will go extremely slow ans then a sudden burst of acceleration. This can be extremely dangerous when pulling into a roadway with traffic. There is also not an immediate reaction when throttle is applied quickly at Highway speeds. Almost was hit 3 times while driving this car because it would not accelerate as expected.
- Concord, NC, USA
I purchased the new 2023 TAOS Volkswagen. I am experiencing sudden burst of acceleration when I-??m gently accelerating. I have had several near misses of having an accident. I have read several other reports of the same problem on online forums. What is Volkswagen going to do about this? I just paid $35,000 for this new car and I-??m afraid I-??m gonna have an accident the way it suddenly accelerates. Please contact me so I know if there-??s anything I can do to resolve this problem. This car is my only transportation and it scares me to drive it. This should not be happening.
- St. Petersburg, FL, USA
The throttle response from a stop in the Taos is not immediate, and will lag. Sometimes it will take 2 seconds to react to throttle input. This can be extremely dangerous when pulling into a roadway with traffic. There is also not an immediate reaction when throttle is applied quickly at Highway speeds. Once the car reacts, it runs flawlessly, it must be a computer issue or throttle response setting.
- Asheville, NC, USA
When put in reverse vehicle would not move (reverse back). Vehicle needs to be restarted several times for it to reverse properly. A safety issue when trying to maneuver in live traffic.
- Daly City, CA, USA
The contact rented a 2023 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in drive with the brake pedal depressed and entering the garage, he released the brake pedal and the vehicle rolled and stalled. Additionally, the vehicle failed to start. The contact had to hold the fob near the WIFI button to start the vehicle. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 7,400.
- Scotia, NY, USA

- Akron, OH, USA